Tom Finder by Martinne Leavitt Recommendations by Cindy Sargeant

Reasons why Tom Finder is successful:

· The story centres around street youths. Students often find this “culture” interesting.
· The protagonist is not a “perfect” character-he has flaws and sometimes makes bad decisions. Students can easily relate to him.
· The novel begins with the protagonist Tom, waking up on the streets with absolutely no memory of who he is, where he came from or how he got there. This opening is definitely attention getting and the reader wants to learn the answers to these questions.
· The plot of the story is very interesting and there is a lot of action and adventure.
· Story has humour, suspense, romance and intrigue.
· Conclusion of the novel is not a “Hollywood ending”. All loose ends are not tied up and the reader needs to figure out on their own how they think the story will end.

Tom Finder is suitable for grades 9 and 10 in an Applied or Locally Developed classroom. It focuses on the following themes:
· Identity
· Self Discovery
· Conflicts in Relationships
· Family Problems
· The Destructive Effects of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
· Friendship
· Community